And Death Walked In Chapter 4
by FleshSac
Summary: hey.. death finally speaks! and you get to meet his #1 fan... what more can you ask for? please r+r


where we left off:  
  
His senses came rushing back all at once, nearly driving him once again to his knees. Then he realized that he wasn't actually standing in the first place. He was sitting.  
  
He was sitting in a waiting room.  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
Squall looked around the waiting room and asessed the situation.  
  
Ok.. he was sitting in a small room along with Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, and someone he didn't know. Everyone seemed to be just waking up, except for Irvine, who was out like a light. Try as he might, he couldn't remember how they got here. The last thing he remembered was Seifer smiling at him.. then this.  
  
"Squall? Squall, where are we?"  
  
It was Rinoa.  
  
"I'm not sure. Is everyone alright?"  
  
Quistis, Rinoa, and Zell confirmed that they were, but Selphie was trying to wake Irvine.  
  
"Irvy? Irvy! Get up, Irvine!! It's time to get up!!"  
  
"he can't hear you, young lady."  
  
Selphie stopped shaking Irvine and looked around. "Did you guys hear that?"  
  
Squall tried to focus on the other person in the room, but was having trouble. "Yeah, Selphie.. there's someone else here, but I can't make them out for some reason."  
  
"oh, dear me." Death thought that this could be a problem. He walked over to the door and stepped into an adjoining room.  
  
Several minutes passed while the five concious SeeD members tried to understand what was going on. The door opened back up and Death walked back into the room, followed by a very large, muscular man wearing a black t-shirt with the word 'death' written on it in plain white lettering. The SeeDs looked up as the hulking man walked to the center of the room.  
  
"Listen up, everyone. Big D has somefin' ta say."  
  
"thank you, fanboy."  
  
Rinoa looked around. "Are you Big D?"  
  
The man laughed, a huge rumbling laugh, "Nah.. that's him." He gestured to where Death was standing and the group tried to focus on him, with little success.  
  
The huge man looked around, then looked at Death. "They can't see ya, boss."  
  
Death sighed. "just as i thought. very well." He took off his jacket and handed it to the man. "i really hate having to do this. i had hoped that they would be different, but oh, well."  
  
As Squall was concentrating on the spot where what he thought was a voice was coming from, Death slowly came into focus.  
  
No longer was Death a nondescipt middle aged man. He grew about a foot and a half, putting him at just under seven feet tall. His face, once the face of anyone, was now long, thin, and very pale.. almost sickly looking. Even though he rivaled the man in the black t-shirt in height, his musculature was nowhere near in comparsion. While the man Death had referred to as Fanboy looked as if he could bench press an apartment complex, Death looked almost anemic. He had just enough muscle on his bones so that you couldn't see the bones themselves.  
  
And another thing... his clothes didn't fit anymore.  
  
Keeping one hand locked on his pants to keep them from falling down, he raised his other and snapped his fingers. He was now dressed in black from head to toe, except for a small bow tie, which was red. It was a nice suit, to say the least, complete with a black, broad rimmed hat, which he had cocked at an angle.  
  
Death walked over to a mirror and gave himself a once-over. He straighted his bow tie, and pulled part of a hankerchief from his breast pocket to complete the ensemble. The hankerchief was the exact same color as the bow tie, and Death smiled briefly. "Something's Still Missing."  
  
His voice had changed noticably. No longer was it something to ignore, nor was it something that COULD be ingnored. Every word now meant something. Every syllable was as important as life itself, which would have made Death laugh, had this comparison been stated to him.  
  
Death looked around the room until his gaze came upon one of the hanging plants. He walked over to it, (which alarmed Rinoa to no end, as it was hanging just above her) and plucked a single red carnation from the planter. Going back to the mirror, he placed the flower in one of the buttonholes of his jacket and smiled. "There."  
  
"Looks great boss."  
  
Death turned to look at Fanboy and saw his former jacket in the large man's grasp. His smile faded slightly. "Oh, I Do Wish That They Would Make Me A New Jacket In This Size. I Like The Patches On The Elbows, You Know."  
  
Fanboy looked around the room and stopped when he was looking at Irvine. He pointed. "What about his jacket, boss? That might work."  
  
Death followed his finger and saw Irvine's trenchcoat. His eyes lit up as he saw it. It had the patches he so adored. "Oh, Yes."  
  
Death began walking towards Irvine, and was just getting ready to lean him forward when Selphie jumped into his vision. He stepped back, startled.  
  
Selphie glared at him. "Oh, no you don't! I won't let you hurt my Irvy! You just don't even think about it."  
  
Fanboy stepped towards her. "You want I should tear her arms off, boss?"  
  
Death glanced back at him. "Oh, I Don't Think That Will Be Necessary At This Point In Time." He turned to address Selphie directly. "Young Lady, I Assure You That I Mean Your Gentleman Friend No Harm, I Just Wish To Borrow His Jacket."  
  
"Whatcha wanna do that for?"  
  
"Because They Don't Make Them In My Size Here."  
  
While Selphie was thinking this over, Death was able to part Irvine's coat from his body. He held it up for inspection. "Yes, Yes, This Will Do Nicely, I Think."  
  
Selphie looked up at him. "He's gonna want that back, you know."  
  
"I'm Sure He Will. You Have My Word That I Will Give Him His Coat Back When He Wakes Up, Ok?"  
  
"Well.. alright."  
  
He shook the jacket once, like someone would shake a rug to get the dust out, and the coat turned jet black. Except for the patches on the elbows, of course. They were red. He smiled widely as he removed his suit jacket, transferred the hankerchief and carnation to the trenchcoat, and put the newly redecorated coat on. Once again he appraised himself in the mirror, turning this way and that. "Exceptional. Truly Marvelous."  
  
He turned around to see that everyone, with the exception of Fanboy, who was hanging the two suit jackets up on a coat rack, and Irvine, who was still asleep, was staring at him.  
  
"I Trust You Can All See And Hear Me Now?"  
  
The group nodded dumbly.  
  
"Good. It Is Time For Introductions, Then. I Am, To Put It Bluntly, Death."  
  
Selphie was the first to respond. "Puh.. yeah right." And with that, she returned to trying to wake the sleeping cowboy.  
  
Rinoa raised her hand.  
  
"Irvy?"  
  
"Yes, Miss?"  
  
"You're Death?"  
  
"Irvy, get up."  
  
"That Is Correct."  
  
"Then why does that other man have a shirt on that says 'death'? Is he Death too?"  
  
"C'mon Irvy, quit foolin'.. wake up."  
  
"No. That Man Is My Assistant, And Self Titled Number One Fan. You May Call Him Fanboy." At this, Fanboy gave a little wave.  
  
Rinoa didn't look 100% convinced. "Rrrrrrrright. You're Death, and he's your number one fan."  
  
"Wakey, wakey"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"Forgive me for saying so, but that's a little hard to believe."  
  
"Irvy! Come on! I'm gonna get mad!!"  
  
"Yes, I Imagine That It.. Would You Excuse Me For A Moment?"  
  
Rinoa nodded her consent.  
  
Death turned around, visibly annoyed. "YOUNG LADY, WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP CALLING OUT HIS DAMN NAME?!?!"  
  
Selphie looked like she was about to cry. "Why won't he get up?"  
  
"Because He's Dead."  
  
"Wha.. What?" Tears were welling up in her eyes. "But you said.. you said you'd give him his jacket back when he woke up..."  
  
"And So I Will."  
  
"But.. but.." Selphie broke down.  
  
"Oh, Don't Get Dramatic. It's No Big Deal."  
  
"But.. *sniff* he's *sniff* he's *sniff*"  
  
"He's Dead. You Can Say It. He's Dead. Like I Said, It's No Big Deal. You're All Dead."  
  
This brought a collective "WHAT?" from everyone in the room.  
  
"Please, Allow Me To Explain. As I Was Saying Before I Was Interupted," he gave Selphie a meaningful look, "I Am Death, And You Are All Dead."  
  
Quistis stood up. "How can that be?"  
  
"How Can You Be Dead? That's Easy... You All Died."  
  
When no further explanation came, Squall spoke up. "I think she means HOW did we die, and if we are indeed dead, then why are we all here talking to you?"  
  
"Well, As For Your Second Question, That Should Be Obvious. You Are All Talking To Me Because You Are Dead, And I Am Death. To Answer Your First Question, The Mouse Killed You, Or More Appropriately, Seifer Killed You As A Direct Result Of The Mouse Taking Over His Body."  
  
Quistis, who was the only one to have actually seen the whole event concerning Seifer, the mouse, and the bottle spoke. "Um.. not to put a damper on your theory or anything, but I saw the mouse explode. There were little mousey bits everywhere. I don't see how the mouse was in a position to make Seifer do anything."  
  
"Well Observed, But Let Me Further Explain. The Mouse Was Just A Host Of Sorts For Something Bigger. It Can't Move About On It's Own, So It Used The Mouse As A Transport To Get To Where It Needed To Go. I Believe You Were Warned About It Several Minutes Before It Actually Got There."  
  
Squall thought for a second. "The Matron? Edea?"  
  
"Yes. She Told You Something Big Was Coming, And Then The Mouse And The Bottle Appeared. It Should Have Been Fairly Obvious."  
  
"But you said that the whatever it is was just using the mouse for a host. How can something that travels in a mouse, which is small in the first place, ever be considered big?"  
  
"She Meant 'Big' As In 'Something Big Is Going To Happen,' Not 'Big' As In Size."  
  
Zell, who had up until this point been uncharacteristically quiet, jumped up. "I TOLD YOU!!! I KNEW IT!! AM I GREAT OR WHAT!!!"  
  
Everyone in the room except for Irvine turned to the estatic young fighter.  
  
"SHUT UP, ZELL!!"  
  
Zell stopped in mid-celebration and sat back down. "Aw, Man." He couldn't believe that he had just been told to shut up by Death and Death's number one fan.  
  
"Um, Mr. Death man?"  
  
Selphie stood with her hands clasped behind her back, bouncing from one foot to the other.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Um.. getting back to Irvine.. Why is it that we're all awake, and he's not. I mean, if we're all dead, and we're awake, then shouldn't he be awake now too?"  
  
"He Failed His Test."  
  
"Well, I know that he was never real good in school or anything, but..."  
  
"You Fail To Understand. He Failed The Test To Get Here. You Don't Remember, But You All Had To Pass A Test To Get Here. You All Passed. He Failed."  
  
"So what's gonna happen to him?"  
  
"Nothing. He Will Remain This Way Until He Decides To Pass His Test. Only Then Will He Make It Here."  
  
"Well.. where is he then, exactly."  
  
"He Is In His Own Personal Hell. He Must Face His Fears Before He Crosses Over To This Side Of Death."  
  
"Oh, Irvy..."  
  
"Don't Worry, Young Lady. He's Already Dead. Not Much Else Can Happen To Him At This Point." This didn't seem to be the encouragement that Selphie needed.  
  
"So what happens to us now? Do we just sit here for the rest of eternity?" Squall had stood up while Quistis and Rinoa attempted to console Selphie.  
  
"No. In Most Cases, The Deceased Just Wander Around Doing What They Will In The Afterlife, But You Six Are Special."  
  
"Special how?"  
  
"Special As In You Weren't Supposed To Die Yet. Trust Me. I Know These Things."  
  
"So are you going to send us back?"  
  
"Yes And No. I Am To Guide You Back, But The Road Will Not Be Easy On You, And If You Fail To Make It Back, You Will Be Trapped In The Unending Hell That Is Limbo, But Hey.. What've You Got To Lose?"  
  
"Very comforting. Just why are we so special that we get to go back, anyway?"  
  
"Because You Are To Stop What Happened To You From Happening Again."  
  
"What?"  
  
Death sighed. Not a very pleasing sound to hear, actually. "You Know The Thing In The Mouse That Killed You?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You Have To Kill It. That Simple."  
  
"Kill it? How in the hell are we supposed to do that? It wiped us out before we even knew it was attacking. There's no way we can stop that kind of power."  
  
"Apparently You Weren't Listening Very Well To What I Said Earlier. 'It' Did Not Kill You. Seifer Did."  
  
"Yeah.. it took over Seifer's body and used it to kill us."  
  
"No. It Took Over Seifer's Body And Then Seifer Killed You. Not 'It'."  
  
Zell rubbed his forehead. "My head hurts."  
  
"I Will Try To Put It So You Can Understand. Every Living Thing Has A Spirit That Controls It. That Spirit Is You. You Just Happen To Be Using That Body As A Host. Now, When You Die, Your Spirit Slowly Leaves Your Body And Comes Here, To The Other Side. That's Under Normal Circumstances. In Seifer's Case, His Spirit Was Ejected From His Body With Such Force That It Was Still In A Slightly Physical State When It Left. Seifer's Spirit Leaving At Such A Great Speed Is What Destroyed The Garden And Killed You All."  
  
Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa let out a simultaneous, "Ooooooh."  
  
Rinoa looked at Death. "Does that mean that Seifer is here too?"  
  
"Yes. Everyone Who Died In The Garden Is Here Somewhere. I'm Sure We'll Come Across Some Of Them On Our Sojourn."  
  
"So we go back, kick this thing's ass, and everything get's turned back to normal?" Zell was up and throwing some punches at the air.  
  
"More Or Less. But You Must Make Sure You Don't Destroy Seifer's Body. If You Do, You Will Kill Seifer, But Not Your Enemy."  
  
Zell hung his head. "Now how the hell are we supposed to do that? And besides, killin' Seifer wouldn't be THAT bad, would it?"  
  
"If He Dies, Things Will Not Return To Normal."  
  
"Why the hell not?"  
  
"Because Normally, Seifer Isn't Dead. Understand?"  
  
"Yeah, I suppose.. but how are we supposed to stop this thing if we can't actually hurt it?"  
  
"You Have To Remove The Spirit Without Killing The Body. You Must Cut The Jewel From Out Of Seifer's Flesh."  
  
"Jewel? What Jewel?"  
  
"The jewel under his left eye." Everyone turned to look at Quistis. "I saw it, just before we died. I thought it was just a piece of the mouse at first, but something about it was different. It's a small ruby embedded just under his left eye."  
  
Death looked impressed. "Very Observant, Young Lady."  
  
"Alright, then! Let's go kick some butt!!" Zell was about to leave when Death cleared his throat. "Yeah, what?"   
  
Death pointed to the door on the opposite side of the waiting room. "That's The Exit."  
  
"Oh.. then where does this go."  
  
"You Don't Want To Know."  
  
Zell quickly removed his hand from the door handle and started towards the other door. "Right."  
  
Selphie jumped up in front of Death. "Hey! What about Irvine? We can't just leave him here, you know!"  
  
"No Problem. Fanboy? Would You Be So Kind?"  
  
"Sure thing, boss." Fanboy picked Irvine up and tossed him over his shoulder like he was a child.  
  
"Now If That's Everything, Shall We Go?"  
  
Everyone filed out of the room, leaving only Death and Squall.  
  
"Did You Have A Question?"  
  
"Yeah.. this thing.. this 'it'.. does it have a name?"  
  
"It's Name Is War."  
  
"War? As in one of the horsemen? As in if we get you and him together, we have two of the four horsemen assembled? THAT War?"  
  
"Yeah. I Call Him Bill."  
  
"Well, that makes me feel SO much better."  
  
"Sarcasm. I Like That In A Person. Shall We?"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
The two exited the room, leaving only Death's favorite jacket behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*notes* (sigh) i really have no idea what the hell i'm doing anymore. 


End file.
